The Abbasian residence in Kashan, Iran

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Kashan is a city in the province of Isfahan, Iran. The Abbasian House is a large traditional historical house built during the late 18th century. A great example of Kashani residential architecture, once home to a famous cleric. The house is now a public museum. 

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(right) The Veresk Bridge in Iran connects the railway between Tehran and the Caspian Sea region. 

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Bustling and colourful Mercato, the largest market in Africa

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In the centre of Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia, lies one of the world’s largest open air markets: Mercato. This market has been in existence from the early 1900s. When the Italians came to Ethiopia in the 1930s, they named this market Mercato, which means market in Italian.

 

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Definitive stamps Menelik Bushbuck (2002). In Ethiopia two types of Bushbuck can be found: Meneliki and Powelli. Both are fairly widespread and can be seen in much of Ethiopia's highland forest.

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Going on Safari, Tanzania’s Big Five

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The "Big 5" refers to the African: Cape buffalo, lion, rhino, leopard and elephant. Why not the hippo, gorilla or giraffe you may ask? Are they not large as well? How about the cheetah -- that would be an animal you would probably like to see as much as a buffalo. Well, the term "big five" was actually coined by big game hunters. It refers to the difficulty in bagging these large animals, mostly due to their ferocity when cornered and shot at.

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(left) 350th death anniversary of Peter Paul Rubens (1577 - 1640)

(right) Wild Animals of Tanzania (2010 issue): Elephants.

Thx Steve!

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Going on Safari, Tanzania’s Big Five: The Buffalo (1)

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Cape Buffalo are said to have killed more big game hunters than any other animal in Africa and are one of Africa's most dangerous animals. On the more open grasslands, Cape buffalo appear in large herds that can number up to a thousand individuals. There are thought to be around 1 million Cape buffalo left in Africa.

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(left) Lake Rushwa, Kagera. In 2008 Tanzania issued a set of 11 themed botanical gardens. The bird on the stamp is a Shoebill. The prehistoric-looking Shoebill is one of the most impressive birds to be found in Africa.

Thx Steve!

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Going on Safari, Tanzania’s Big Five: The Lion (2)

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These beautiful, large cats are excellent hunters but you're more likely to see one sleeping than hunting. Lions are very social animals, unlike other cats, they live in prides of several females, their young and a couple of males.

They will cooperate when hunting difficult prey like a buffalo, but usually they'll take down an antelope on their own. Females hunt more than males and all lions will happily scavenge given half a chance. Lions ambush their prey, (like leopards), rather than track and chase (like hyenas).

 

Thx Steve!

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Going on Safari, Tanzania’s Big Five: The Rhino (3)

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Black rhinos are usually solitary living in the savanna, shrub and tropical bush areas. Black rhinos have suffered a dramatic reduction in population in the last 20 years.

Due to poaching there are now only about 4000 left in the wild. Rhino horn, used for medicinal purposes to reduce fevers, is much prized in Asia. If they manage to avoid poachers, rhinos can live up to 30-50 years.

Thx Steve!

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Going on Safari, Tanzania’s Big Five: The Leopard (4)

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Leopards are shy and nocturnal, quite modest for a cat that can climb, swim and live in a wider range of habitats than most other wild cats. Leopards use trees as observation platforms and for protection, so when you are on safari remember to look up to see this solitary, beautiful cat.

Man has succeeded in getting this magnificent cat on the IUCN's "near threatened" list by reducing the leopards' habitat, depleting its prey and hunting it.

Thx Steve!

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Tanzania’s Big Five: The Elephant (5)

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The African elephant is the largest mammal in the world. Elephants live in woodlands, forests, deserts and savanna, spread across 37 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Elephants are quite peaceful if left alone, but if they feel threatened just watch out. Elephants are very social animals, they live in family groups of up to 100 members, headed by a matriarch.

The demand for ivory in the 70’s and 80’s led to a dramatic decrease in elephant numbers, today the population stable at around 600,000.

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The Ngalawa is a traditional, double-outrigger canoe of the Swahili people living in Zanzibar and the Tanzanian coast.

Thx Steve!

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Swayambhunath Stupa | The Monkey Temple, Kathmandu

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A stupa, literally meaning "heap", is a mound-like or semi-hemispherical structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the ashes of Buddhist monks, used by Buddhists as a place of meditation.

Swayambhunath stupa is located atop of a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, near Kathmandu city, capital of Nepal. It is also called the `Monkey Temple' because of the many hundreds of (sacred) monkeys who scamper about the temple at night after the pilgrims and priests have departed.

The stupa has Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted on. Between them, there is something painted which looks like the nose - but is the Nepali symbol of 'unity', in the main Nepali language dialect.

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The stamps is a joint issue (2013) of Israel and Nepal featuring Mt. Everest and the Dead Sea, two contrasting geographic wonders — the highest and the lowest places on earth. 

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Wat Phra Kaew | The Temple of the Emerald Buddha

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Bangkok is the capital and the most populous city of Thailand with over eight million inhabitants.

The temple of Wat Phra Kaew, meaning The Temple of the Emerald Buddha,  is located in the historic centre of Bangkok. It’s full official name is Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram. The Emerald Buddha is a dark green statue, approximately 66 centimetres tall, carved from a single jade stone.

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A Label.

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Palacio de la Moneda, Santiago de Chile

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Santiago de Chile  is the capital of Chile. Founded in 1541, Santiago has been the capital city since colonial times. Palacio de La Moneda is the seat of the President. The production of coins in Chile took place at La Moneda (meaning coin or money) from 1814 to 1929.

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In 2013 Chile issued two stamps to celebrate 70 years of public health school. 

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Tirana, the capital of Albania

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Tirana is the capital of Albania and the most important political, economic and cultural centre of the country. With an estimated 900,000 people living in the metropolitan area it is also by far the biggest city. 

The Skanderbeg Monument is located in the Skanderbeg Square in Tirana. Skanderberg was a nobleman who lived in the 15th century. He defended the region of Albania against the Ottoman Empire for more than two decades.

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A Zanzibar Door

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The Zanzibar Archipelago is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania. It consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (known as Zanzibar) and Pemba. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City. It’s historic centre is known as Stone Town, a World Heritage Site.

 

Most of the houses that can be seen today were built in the 19th century when Zanzibar was one of the most important trading centres in the Indian Ocean region. Little has changed in the last 200 years.

It is a place of winding alleys, bustling bazaars, mosques and grand Arab houses with brass-studded, carved, wooden doors. There are more than 500 different examples of this handiwork. 

Thx Steve!

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Traditional Housing in Mongolia

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Yurts have been the primary style of homes in Central Asia, particularly Mongolia, for thousands of years. Today even more than three-quarters of the population of Mongolia live in yurts. Mongolia is one of the last nomadic countries in the world.

 

Yurts (Ger in Mongolian language) have existed for thousands of years in Central Asia, in virtually the same form as they exist today. They are ideal dwellings for the nomadic cultures of the Central Asian steppe. So not only in Mongolia yurts are important. In northern China, in the Inner Mongolia region, people live in yurts. The Siberian nomads of Russia, the Tuva, also use yurts as they follow the reindeer herd.

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Dzjengis Khan

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The Mongun Taiga

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The Mongun Taiga, meaning Silver Mountain, is a massif in Tuva, southwest Siberia. Located between Mongolia and the Altai. In 2003 The Uvs Nuur Basin was inscripted on the Unesco Whs list. The inscription was for twelve protected areas in this region, one of them is the Mongun Taiga.

 

It is a harsh land of wind-blown high-altitude meadows, stony slopes and icy rivers. Only strong and tough people survive here, Tuvans of Turkic roots, living a nomadic life with their herds of sheep and yaks.

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2008 issue, Decorative Art of Dagestan - Kerchief chain with pendants

2013 Europa stamp, themed postal vehicles. 

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Little miss Keti Koti contest, Suriname

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On 1 July 1863, slavery was abolished in the former Dutch colonies of Suriname and the Dutch Antilles. This ended a period of around 200 years of slavery in these colonies. Keti Koti, meaning 'Broken Chains' in Surinam language, is an annual event to celebrate and commemorate this day.

  

The Netherlands was one of the last countries to abolish slavery in 1863. Although the decision was made in 1848, it took many years for the law to be implemented. Furthermore, slaves in Suriname would be fully free only in 1873, since the law stipulated that there was to be a mandatory 10-year transition.

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(left) The Dusky Parrot is a medium sized parrot that can be found in some South American countries.

(right)The Strawberry Poison Frog
                 
       THX Cheryll!

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Levuka Historical Port Town, Fiji

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The South Pacific nation of Fiji is comprised of 322 islands. About 100 are inhabited. Levuka is a town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau, a lush vulcanic Island with a population of about 8,000. Farming and fishing are the main source of income. Levuka was formerly the Capital of Fiji (today Suva is).

Levuka and the island of Ovalau had been seeking recognition from UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for decades, finally being designated in June 2013; being the first whs site for Fiji.

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Clown fish of Fiji. Part of a set of 4, issued in 2006. The Pink Anemonefish inhabits coral reefs and is usually associated with the anemone. Usually one adult pair and several juveniles are present in each anemone. 

Thx David!!

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How to transport bananas in Uganda

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Matooke is a variety of starchy banana, commonly referred to as cooking bananas. The fruit is harvested green and then cooked and often mashed or pounded into a meal. In Uganda it is steam-cooked and the mashed meal is one of the national dishes of the country.

“Matooke is similar to mashed potatoes but instead it is boiled and mashed plantains wrapped in banana leaf. It is everywhere and served with every meal: with eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even though it is pretty bland-tasting on its own usually it is mixed with the “sauce” which is surprisingly pretty good and I've grown to really love it.”

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The island of Helgoland

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Helgoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea, about 60 kilometers of the German coast.

What has Helgoland to do with Zanzibar..?

The island had been under British rule since 1807 when they seized it from the Danes. But, being important for naval operations, Germany wanted to gain control over the islands. As a result of negotiations with Britain, Germany gained control over Helgoland. In return, Germany (amongst other things) recognized the British protectorate over the island of Zanzibarof the coast of Tanzania.

Or with Mount Kilimanjaro.. one of the ‘other things’.

Queen Victoria insisted that her grandson, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, be given a mountain in Africa because Britain had two, Germany had none. So the border from Lake Victoria to the coast has a kink in it, putting Mt. Kilimanjaro in German East Africa (now Tanzania).

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Sunset over Île de la Possesion, Crozet Islands

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The Crozet Islands are a sub-antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF).

Île de la Possession, or Possession Island, is one of the Crozet Islands. With an area of 150 km2 it is the largest island of the group and the only inhabited one. Administratively, it is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.

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Île de la Possession is an important nesting site for seabirds. The Eaton's Pintail is a species of dabbling duck, restricted to the island groups of Kerguelen and Crozet. 

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Papa Francesco | Franciscus PP

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The Jesuit Jorge Mario Bergoglio (76) from Argentina, born in 1936 as the son of Italian immigrants, is the first Jesuit in the papal office and also the first non-European.

 

For the first time in history there is a Pope who comes from South America. And for the first time a member of the Jesuit order holds the highest ecclesiastical Office. Francis is the 266th consecutive Pope.

“My people are poor and I am one of them”, he has said more than once, explaining his decision to live in an apartment and cook his own supper.

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Ioannes Paulus PP. II

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Pope John Paul II (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), was the head of the Catholic Church from October 1978 to his death in 2005. He was the second longest-serving pope in history and the first non-Italian since Pope Adrian VI, who died in 1523.

Pope John Paul II in Latin is “Ioannes Paulus PP.II”

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St. Vitus Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. 

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The Dolomites in Alto Adige | Südtirol, Italy

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The Peitlerkofel is a mountain in the Dolomites in South Tyrol. The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

South Tyrol (Südtirol in German, Alto Adige in Italian) is the northernmost region in Italy, bordering Austria and Switzerland and the rest of Italy to the south. Together with Trentino, it composes the northernmost Italian autonomous administrative region of Trentino-South Tyrol. 

South Tyrol is officially bi-lingual. This is also the only region in Italy where the majority of the population speaks German as their mother tongue.

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Italian Masters of the 20th Century - Federico De Pistoris

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The Stone City of Tashkurgan | 塔什庫爾幹鎮

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The name of Tashkurgan means "stone city" or "stone fort", and the town lies in the extreme South-West of the province of Xinjiang (China), in the Tajik Autonomous County.

It is an ancient outpost along the Silk Road, situated close to the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Afghanistan and Pakistan. At an altitude of 3600m, it lies at the foot of the road leading to the Kunjerhab Pass, the Karakoram Highway.

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Christmas Island, Kiribati

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Kiribati is an island nation in the central tropical Pacific Ocean with a population of just over 100,000. One of the islands is Christmas Island (or Kiritimati), not to be confused with the Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.

Christmas Island is the largest coral atoll in the world and home to over six million seabirds. It measures about 22 by 44 miles and it has a population of approximately 5,000. The earns some revenue from coconut products and a growing tourism industry.

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In 2008 Kiribati issued a large set of birds definitives:the Band-rumped Storm-Petrel.    

Thx David!!

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